Hopper feed mechanism



Aug. 1, 1944. J. P..TREC|OKAS HOPPER FEED MECHANISM Filed July 31. 1943 INVENTOR Jacob PTrecwkas.

Patented Aug. 1, 1944 CE J - HOPPER FEED MECHANISM Jacob P. Treciokas, Oakville; Conn, assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, com, a' corporation of Connecticut i Application July 31, 1943, Serial No. 496,937

'13 Claims. (01. 218-151) This invention relates to' feedhoppers such as-used in connection with'fastener element setting machines and particularly t'o' an auxiliary hopper used in conjunction-therewith.

'The particular object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary hopper capable of containing a relatively large massof elements to be fed to the regular rotary hopper of the type supplied upon automatic fastener setting machines, and also to provide an automatic mechanism for controlling the amount of fastener elements fed from the auxiliary hopper to the rotary hopper.

-' In'practise it has been found that in some in stances fastener elements that are set upon garments or other fabric material may be of a relatively large size that have to'be fed to the setting station from a hopper on the conventional fastener machines. In such cases it takes but a relatively short time before the regular rotary hopper becomes exhausted ofthe'fastener elements, and therefore requires almost constant attention on the part of the machine operators to see that the hoppers are kept supplied with the fastener elements. If the rotary hopper such as used upon the usual type fastener setting machines was enlarged toaccommodate more of the relatively large fastener elements, it was found that too much weight of these elements in the hopper would cause them to jam up rather than topass out through the'orienting slots in the hopper into the raceway leading to the setting station. vTo overcome this difiiculty I- provide an auxiliary hopper which will contain a large amount of: the fastener elements and set'it upon the machine frame in general alignment with the regular machine hopper. -A trap door is provided between the auxiliary hopper and the regular rotary hopper that is responsive to the amount of elements disposed in the rotary hopper and allow for only a certain amount of elements to be supplied from the auxiliary hopper into th'e'rotary hopper. Y r

The full nature of this invention along with other objects and various advantages thereof will be more apparent from a consideration of the full description when read in connection with the. accompanying drawing, in whichi i Fig. 1 is aside .elevational view of the regular feed hopper-and attached auxiliary hopper;

:Fig. 2.is.an enlarged vertical sectional view throughthe same; v I a Fig. 3 is a further enlarged sectional View through the trap door mechanism taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing the trap door as it appears in full open position;

Fig-.4 is a similar view of Fig. 3 which shows how the trap doori's operated by the elements i'n-therotary hopper; a'nd- -Fi'g'.-5 is a plan view of the hopper, per se. Referring-now to thedrawing'wherein like nu-'- merals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral I0 designates'the base plate of the rotary hopper feeding unit which is supported in an elevated and inclined position by means of a bracket H attached to any suitable part of the fastener setting machine. The base plate is provided with an integral hub l2 within which is journalled a spindle 13 which in turn supports a rotary feed hopper l4. Specifically the hopper is of cup shape configuration as sembled in an inverted manner. The base or up per closed end l5 of the hopper is provided with an inwardly projecting integral hub l6 that is journally mounted upon the spindle I3, but is caused to rotate with said spindle through a fric-' tion connection here described. An annular flange l1 projects upwardly from the closed end l5 of the hopper I4 and defines a recess llci within which isseated a spider type ofspring member l8. The upper end of the spindle I3 is provided with a threaded section l3a for thread edly receiving a hand nut l9 adapted to be thread: ed down against the spider spring I 8 with a washer 20 interposed therebetween. The pres sure that is applied to the spider spring-l8 by the threading of the nut I'Q'upon the threaded spindle l3a determines the frictional connection between the hopper Hand the spindle l3. The lower edge of the rotary hopper I4 is formed with an enlarged rim 2| spaced from the adjacent surface of the base plate It a distance sufiicient to allow a free clearance Of the heads of the fastener elements indicated by-the numeral 22 to pass therethrough. The rim 2| is provided with a series of oblique discharge ports 2la that during the rotation of the hopper I4 serve to pick up the individual elements 22 in proper position and discharge them into an element guide chute or raceway 23 that leads to the setting station of the machine. a

The rotary hopper I4 is adapted to be ro-' tated in one direction only by a pulley-and ratchet mechanism carried by the lower end of the spindle I3. Specifically a sleeve 24 is keyed or otherwise made secure to the spindle l3' and m tatable on the sleeve as a pulley 25 which may receive motion by asuitable belt operating'oif any moving part of the attaching machine. Motion is imparted to the sleeves 24- from the pulley 25 by a spring actuated dog or pawl 25 carried by said pulley'25 and engaging with a ratchet Wheel 21 made secure to the sleeve'zdl A' hand wheel 2-8 also secured to the sleeve 24 permits for manual rotation of the hopper when necessary or desired independently of the pulley 25.

The mechanism thus far described is an old and well-known construction employed in con; nection with fastener setting machines and forms" no part of the present invention except as it is used in conjunction therewith.

relatively large open end container 30 supported in a stationary manner above the rotary hopper M by means of support straps 3| whichpre'fere ably are permanently secured to the outer walls of the container through the medium of soldier and detachably secured to convenient parts of the base plate III as by screws 32. The hopper base l5 as originally constructed was provided I with an arcuate opening |5a through which the elements were fed directly into the rotary hopper. This opening |5a is now closed by a sheet metal plate disc 33 made secure to the outer face of the hopper base l5, andis therefore caused to rotate with the hopper l4. Within the area of the hopper base opening Ilia an opening 34 is provided in the disc plate 33, and the metal out of said opening 34 is formed downwardly to pro vide a pair of opposed guide walls 35.

Within the disc plate opening 34 and between the walls 35 is adapted to operate an automati cally element controlled mechanism thatpredetermines the amount of elements that shall be fed from the auxiliary hopper to the rotary hop v per. trap door plate 36 having opposed gradually tapering flanges 31 extended along the longitudi nal edges thereof. The upper end of the door plate 36 is secured to a hinge member 38 wh?ch in turn is detachably secured to the underside of the plate disc 33 as by means of screws 39 engaging in a built up nut portion 40 made .secure to one of the hinge flaps. Secured to the This mechanism comprises essentially. a

of the tongue member 4| extends through an arc of more than 90 and preferably somewhere between 100 and 180 of length. This is for the purpose of assuring that all the elements in the auxiliary hopper will be fed into the rotary hopper. From the fact that the rotary hopper M is mounted and operates in an inclined position, obviously, as pointed out above, the element 22, in mass, in both hoppers I4 and will tend to seek a horizontal level, therefore, when the position of the trap door 36 is at the lowermost position relative to the turning cycle of said hopper, the tongue member 4| will extend to a position nearer the upper area within the hopper M where there will always be less fasteners or none at all and thus permit the tongue to drop closer to the base plate In or in direct contact therewith, and thus allow the trap door 36 to open to its greatest amount. As the hopper |4 rotates and the tongue member is carried to its lower position in its cycle of operation, it will always engage some elements that will have been deposited in the lower area of said hopper and consequently will cause the trap door to partially close as it approaches its uppermost posi- Thus there will be a sort of fluctuating open and closing motion of the trap door during each revolution of 'the hopper, and the maximum opportunity for the elements to pass from the auxiliary hopper to the rotary hopper is when the posiunderside of the opposite end of the trap door plate 36 is an arcuately shaped downwardly biased tongue member 4| that normally is disposed to ride along the adjacent face of the base plate II] when there are no elements within the rotary hopper. In this position, such as shown in Fig. 3, the trap door is open and. allows for the elements to pass freely from the auxiliary hopper container 3|] intothe rotary hopper |4.

As the fastener elements are fed into the rotary hopper they, in mass, normally tend to seek a horizontal level and in the usual manner are picked up in proper oriented position by reason of the discharge parts 21a then fed into the chute 23. In case the quantity ofv elements in tion of the trap door approaches the lowermost position of the hopper cycle such as shown in Fig. 3. This will assure that all the elements if in the auxiliary hopper can be drained into the rotary hopper.

Attached to the lower opened end of the auxiliary hopper container is a bevelled reinforcing ring 42 that serves to direct the elements inwardly toward the trap door opening 34 and *also acts as a friction member against the adjacent face of the disc plate 33.

It will thus be seen that I provide means wholly automatic in its operation and requiring no mechanical connection with other moving parts of the machine for controlling the feed of the fastener elements from the auxiliary hopper to the rotary hopper, thereby affording a simple a and inexpensive arrangement which is perfectlyv the rotary hopper l4 build up too fast or beyond caused to ride over the elements contained therein. The more elements thatare fed into the hopper M the higher will the tongue 4| riseand eventually closethe trap door 36 to precludeany elements passing from the auxiliary hopper to the rotary hopper. As the elements in th-ero tary hopper become exhausted, the trap door and associated tongue by reason of. gravity willv drop to allow another supply ofelements to passinto the rotary hopper l4 from the auxiliar hopper- 30, and thus the action is continuous.

It is to be noted thatthe trap door 38 throughout its entire movement. always has its integral flanges 31 bearing against the opposed guide walls 35 of the opening .|5, and this serves. to preclude satisfactory and eifective in performing the functions required of it and which, moreover, is not apt to get out of order.

While the form of the invention herewith shown and described embraces the preferred embodiment of the same, it is to be understood that the construction may be varied as to me-' chanical details without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of 1 what is claimed.

I claim:-

r 1. In a hopper feed mechanism for a'fastener setting machine comprising a support frame, a raceway carried by said frame, said'frarnepr'oviding a-hopper' base plate disposed in an in-- clined position, aspindle rotatably mounted in said base plate perpendicular to theface thereof, a rotary hopper having a slotted, rim through which the elements are fed-to said raceway, said: hopper being mounted on said spindle in spaced relation to said base plate, an auxiliary supply hopper mounted above said rotary hopper, said rotar-y hopper havinga closed wall disposed between said rotary h pp r and saidau il ary hopper with an opening therein, atrap doorpivotally mounted to said wall and operating in said opening and having means extending to the base plate and capacitated to engage the element; deposited within said rotary hopper to control the position of the door in said wall opening and limit the amount of elements that shall be fed through said opening from said auxiliary hopper into said rotary hopper.

2. In a hopper feed mechanism for a fastener setting machine comprising a support frame, a raceway carried by said frame, said frame providing a hopper base plate disposed in an inclined position, a spindle rotatable in said base plate on an axis perpendicular to said base plate, a rotary cup-shaped hopper having a slotted rim and carried on said spindle in spaced relation to said base plate, the slotted rim being designed to stack the elements disposed in said hopper and feed them properly oriented into said raceway, the closed end or base of said rotary hopper being formed with an opening therein, a fixed auxiliary hopper disposed in general alinement with said rotary hopper, a trap door pivotally mounted to said rotary base and operating within said opening, and an arcuate tongue member attached to the free end of said trap door designed to engage either the adjacent face of the supporting base or the elements contained within the hopper to automatically control the position of the trap door and predetermine the amount of elements that shall be fed from the auxiliary hopper into the rotary hopper.

3. In a hopper feed for a fastener setting machine comprising a rotary hopper, a support plate having an inclined face forming the base of said hopper, a spindle rotatable in Said support plate and perpendicular to the inclined face, said rotary hopper being generally cupshaped, provided with a slotted rim and mounted in an inverted position on said spindle in spaced relation to said inclined face, an auxiliary hopper disposed in general alinement with said rotary hopper, the closed end of said rotary hopper having an opening therein, a trap door hinged to the closed end of said hopper and operating in said opening, and means extending from said trap door member to said support plate responsive to the amount of elements in said rotary hopper to operate the trap door and control the amount of elements fed from said auxiliary hopper through said opening into said rotary hopper.

4. In a hopper feed for a fastener setting machine as defined by claim 3 wherein the opening in the rotary hopper closed end is flanged by depending spaced parallel walls between which the trap door is adapted to operate.

5. In a hopper feed for a fastener setting machine as defined by claim 3 where the opening in the rotary hopper closed end is flanged by depending walls and said trap door is provided with upstanding integral flanges movable in close proximity to said depending walls.

6. In a hopper feed for a fastener setting machine as defined by claim 3 wherein the means attached to the trap door is in the form of an arcuate tongue that extends through an arc of more than 100 and less than 180.

7. In a hopper feed. for fastener setting machines as defined by claim 3 wherein the means attached to the trap door is of a length such that when the trap door in its cycle of movement approaches its lowermost position relative to the rotary hopper the distal end of said means will extend to a position in proximity to the upper surface of said support plate.

8. In a hopper feed for fastener setting machines as defined by claim 3 wherein the means attached to the trap door is in the form of an arcuate downwardly biased tongue of a length to extend from the trap door to substantially the opposite side of the spindle within the hopper chamber.

9. In a hopper feed for fastener setting machines as defined by claim 3 wherein the means attached to the trap door is in the form of an arcuate tongue made of material capable of being bent and holding a set position for adjustment purposes.

10. In a hopper feed mechanism in combination with a fastener setting machine having the usual form of inverted cup-shaped rotary hopper mounted on an inclined axis for feeding fas tener elements to a raceway leading to the setting station of the machine and wherein the rotary hopper is provided with an opening in its end wall, a trap door pivotally mounted to the hopper end wall, operating in said opening and capacitated to travel with said hopper, a stationary hopper disposed above said rotary hopper in general alinement therewith, and means carried by said trap door extending into the rotary hopper, said means being responsive to the amount of elements deposited in said rotary hopper to predetermine the opening and closing position of said trap door and control the amount of elements fed from said stationary hopper to said rotary hopper.

11. In a hopper feed mechanism in combination with a fastener setting machine having the usual form of inverted cup-shaped rotary hopper mounted on an inclined axis for feeding fastener elements to a raceway leading to the setting station of the machine and wherein the rotary hopper is provided with a relatively large opening in its end wall, a late member secured to said hopper end wall and having an opening flanked by parallel depending flanges projecting through said end wall opening into said hopper, a trap door pivotally mounted to said plate member and operating in said plate opening between said depending flanges, a stationary hopper supported above said rotary hopper in general alinement therewith, and means carried by said trap door extending into said rotary hopper which is responsive to the amount of elements deposited in said rotary hopper to predetermine the amount of elements fed from said auxiliary hopper to said rotary hopper.

12. In a hopper feed mechanism as defined by claim 11 wherein a reinforcement ring is attached to the end of the auxiliary hopper generally alined with said rotary hopper for frictional bearing engagement with the adjacent surface of said plate member.

13. In a hopper feed mechanism as defined by claim 12 wherein the reinforcement ring is of an inwardly tapering shape to direct the fastener elements in the auxiliary hopper inwardly towards the trap door opening of said rotary hopper.

JACOB P. TRECIOKAS. 

